Gran Canaria beaches

Gran Canaria is a popular holiday island in the Canaries, which is located off the west coast of North Africa. Most of the 830,000 people living on the island live in the capital, Las Palmas.

Despite the island’s limited size, the southern part of the island has the highest temperatures and more hours of sun. Therefore, the holiday resorts are located on the south coast and here you will also find many of the best beaches. The most famous ones are the desert beach Maspalomas at Playa del Inglés and the very beautiful Amadores beach at Puerto Rico.

If you prefer to be at a distance from the holiday resorts, Gran Canaria also has some beautiful remote beaches. The most famous one of these is probably Gui Gui on the west coast, but it takes a three hours’ walk to get there! Then it will be easier to get to Montaña de Arena, which is located east of Arguineguin.

Some of the island’s small towns with their connected beaches are also worth a visit. In the north-western part of Gran Canaria, you will for instance be able to visit Puerto de las Nieves and Sardina. Or the towns Melenara and La Garita on the east coast. All four towns are very charming and have a few restaurants and cafés.

When it is time for some recreation apart from the beach life, there are many options. You can rent a car and drive up into the mountains and visit the many charming villages such as Teror, Arucas and Firgas. Enjoy a day in the flower and animal park Palmitos Park or take the children to the biggest water park in Gran Canaria, Aqualand. The capital, Las Palmas, has many shopping facilities and restaurants as well as the famous beach Las Canteras.

Las Palmas is an obvious choice for a city break, but most tourists stay in the holiday resorts on the south coast. The classic holiday resorts include Playa del Inglés, Puerto Rico and San Agustin, but there are also some more recent alternatives such as Playa Taurito. Another more recent holiday resort is Meloneras, which has many five-star hotels, a casino and lovely golf courses, which makes it the most exclusive holiday resort in Gran Canaria.